Cleanup addressed at former Thompson Center Arms facility in Rochester

Thursday

Nov 15, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By Liz Markhlevskayalmark@fosters.com

ROCHESTER — The new owners of the former Thompson Center Arms property are taking steps to clean up contaminants at the old manufacturing site on North Main Street.

Lead dust found in the firing range area, as well as chlorinated solvents and oil in the groundwater, were among the problems being addressed in the Remedial Action Plan currently being reviewed by the state Department of Environmental Services as part of the Brownfields Covenant Program.

The former gun manufacturing facility, located at 400 North Main St., is scheduled to be redeveloped into a car dealership, according to the plan submitted to the DES. The planned demolition will give access to the previously inaccessible contaminated soil under the buildings.

E. Molly Stark, a hydrogeologist and project manager at DES, said the property was sold several years ago to Smith & Wesson, a company that will now be responsible for conducting cleanup of the property.

“The concentrations are in excess of the state standard, but there have been no violations of the state law at the property,” said Stark.

As part of the proposed Remedial Action Plan, soil in the bottom of the underground firing range, which contains lead dust, will be removed and disposed off site.

Soil and groundwater impacted by a spill of lubricating oil is proposed to be excavated and either treated and reused on site, or disposed off site at an approved facility.

“There was oil floating on top of the ground water, which we don’t allow,” said Stark.

She said the oil in question is mineral oil, and while the DES does not want this type of oil distributed indiscriminately, it does not present a health concern for the public.

Stark also stressed the groundwater around the property is not used as drinking water.

The action plan also proposes to monitor the groundwater for levels of chlorinated solvents, which can be used during the manufacturing process to degrease metal and remove waxes and oils, said Stark.

She said that when these solvents get into the soil, they tend to travel downward because of their density and then contaminate the groundwater.

The levels of chlorinated solvents found in the groundwater near the former Thompson Center Arms property are slightly above the state standard, but “eventually it will dilute and go away on its own,” said Stark.

According to Stark, some contamination at the property may have dated back decades ago, when the practices in the manufacturing process didn’t focus as strongly on containing and properly disposing of substances such as oils.

Since Smith & Wesson purchased the property about six years ago, some cleanup of the site has already taken place, said Stark.

The Remedial Action Plan was submitted to DES after Smith & Wesson chose to participate in the Brownfields Covenant Program. One of the program’s incentives, said Stark, is that if the cleanup is executed according to the plan approved by DES, the owner of the property would not be subject to legal action by the state in regard to the contamination.

As part of the Brownfields Covenant Program process, the public will have until Dec. 7 to make comments on the proposed Remedial Action Plan. Comments on the plan can be addressed to Stark by calling 271-2890; emailing Molly.Stark@des.nh.gov; faxing 271-2181; or mailing comments or questions to Department of Environmental Services, Waste Management Division, 29 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH, 03302-0095.

The Remedial Action Plan can be viewed at the reference desk at the Rochester Public Library, or online through http://www2.des.state.nh.us/IISProxy/IISProxy.dll?ContentId=4419938.